He had lost everything: his Talents, energy, system, and even his clothes and equipment.
Gao Yang, now wearing a loose patient gown with blue and white stripes, stumbled barefooted and weak through the space. He felt terminally ill—lightheaded, chest tight, without even the strength to run. He wobbled forward, unable to tell how long he had walked. This damn world had stripped away his sense of space.
Finally, he was exhausted, drenched in sweat. He could pass out at any moment.
When he turned around, Miss Bo was standing right behind him, silent. It was as if he had not moved at all.
Miss Bo looked at him, cold like she was showing the true face of an AI. “In one’s subconscious, time is almost limitless. Don’t worry about wasting time.”
“You may try anything and everything. Once you’re calm enough, tell me you’re ready. Then I’ll communicate effectively with you, helping you accept reality and shake off the sequela.”
“Friendly reminder: while time is limitless, the subjective sense of time passing still occurs. The quicker you calm down, the less negative emotion you’ll be subject to.”
She stopped talking, quiet like a calm, impartial statue.
Gao Yang stood motionless, mind blank.
A few seconds later, he toppled back and closed his eyes, lying prone on the “ground”.…
He opened his eyes in rage. Still in the dream.
…
He opened his eyes in despair. Still in the dream.
…
He opened his eyes in numbness. Still in the dream.
…
He opened his eyes calmly. Still in the dream.
Eyes reflecting the vast boundless pure white, he said hoarsely, “You won. I admit defeat. Kill me.”
…
He slowly sat up.
Head lowered, he said in a faint voice, “I’m ready.”
“I’m glad to see you calm down, Mr. Gao Yang.” The unmoving statue started speaking again, her expression becoming vivid once more.
“To better assess your emotional state and help you quickly understand your situation, I'll be taking you through the Corridor of Thousand Dreams. It's an introduction scene I've specially prepared for those suffering from type-E side sequela of the Jupiter Virus. Do you consent?”
“I do.”
“Good. Do you wish to walk, or use a wheelchair?”
“I don’t want to move,” Gao Yang said, physically and mentally drained.
“It’s only natural for your physical weakness from long-term coma to lead to mental weakness. You made the wise choice.”
Miss Bo raised her hand. The different components of a wheelchair emerged and assembled, propping Gao Yang up securely.
When Gao Yang realized it, he was already seated in an automatic wheelchair.
Rumble.
Countless rectangular structures rained down like stacking blocks. In no time, a hotel was built around Gao Yang. He found himself in its corridor, lined with symmetrical rooms. The numbers on the doors weren't room numbers, but dates.
Starting from 01/01/01, each door representing a day.
Gao Yang looked up. The endless white corridor stretched from the red carpet beneath his feet to infinity.
Miss Bo started walking at a leisurely pace. The automatic wheelchair followed.
“Mr. Gao Yang…”
“Call me ‘patient’.” Gao Yang slumped in the wheelchair. He didn’t want to hear his name. That would only be a reminder of what a joke he had been.
“You’re ready to wake up. I cannot call you ‘patient’. That’ll undermine your recovery.”
“Then call me whatever.”
“Of course.” Miss Bo continued to walk as data flashed through her eyes for a fleeting second. “According to the open data, your name was Liu Li before you turned six. May I call you Mr. Liu?”
“Yeah.”
“I want you to first know that you’re lucky, Mr. Liu. Among all the patients who contracted Jupiter Virus, very few woke up after sleeping for a year.”
“The number of people infected with Jupiter Virus now exceeds forty million, accounting for one-fiftieth of the global population.”
“No more than one in a hundred wake up at all, and no more than one in a thousand can fully recover. The others all suffer from different degrees of complications, both mental and physical.”
Gao Yang didn’t say anything. He felt like an audience listening to the story of Liu Li.
“The Jupiter Virus is a virus developed ten years ago by the globally wanted criminal Qilin. It’s evolved to the third-generation strain. It’s a complex virus affecting both brain neurons the human genes. The way of transmission is currently unknown. From data analysis, its spread seems random.”
“Once contracting Jupiter Virus, the patient will fall into a deep coma within a week, entering a vegetative state. Most will die in their sleep in two months.”
“Qilin. Jupiter Virus…” Gao Yang treated it as a story and found it in him to laugh. “You’ve put in a lot of work, making up a comprehensive story.”
Miss Bo didn’t seem surprised by his reaction. She continued to explain calmly, “Qilin is merely a codename. No one knows their true identity, age, or gender. Many experts believe that Qilin isn’t one person, but a group of criminals.”
“There are even rumors that Qilin isn’t human, but an agent chosen by higher alien lifeforms, developing the Jupiter Virus to wipe out mankind.”
“But Qilin stated that he didn’t develop the virus to eradicate humans, but to trigger an evolution, allowing new humans to emerge so that we may fight the prophesied doomsday. He believes himself to be humanity’s savior, keeping the torch of human civilization burning.”
“Go on.” Gao Yang played an interested audience.
“According to Qilin, the Jupiter Virus is but the first trial. Those waking up from the trial must face two others. Only the final survivors are the new humans who can survive doomsday.”
“What about the two other trials?”
“Patients with Jupiter Virus suffer from a serious existential crisis, unable to tell between reality and delusions. For the past ten years, Closure Corps has been working hard to save as many patients as we can, helping them wake up. Unfortunately, many end up losing their mind. They choose to kill themselves most of the time, or they seek out mutated Jupiter Virus sold in the black market to return to their dreams—in the end, they still die. That’s the second trial.”
“The third trial is genetics. Patients usually experience genetic mutations after waking up and develop supernatural powers. Simply put, they gain superpowers.”
“You sure have combined a lot of different elements,” Gao Yang commented.
Ignoring the taunting remark, Miss Bo continued, “According to the data Closure has gathered, there are now 2012 types of superpowers, roughly divided into twelve categories. We have yet to identify their patterns or develop effective treatments.”
“The patients react differently to their side effects.”
“Some only want to return to their old life and hate themselves for becoming abominations. Some believe the mutations to be a form of evolution and follow Qilin, becoming his supporters, even devotees. Of course, most patients hold a neutral stance.”
“There are also some patients who form resistance against Qilin. They don’t trust the government or Closure.”
“They believe Closure to be another evil technology conglomerate. They refuse our long-term follow-ups and treatments. To that, we express our regrets. Data show that those turning down our support experience faster deterioration in their condition, and many more of them end up destroying themselves.”
Gao Yang’s lips twitched. “Lame worldbuilding.”
“One of the typical symptoms of Jupiter victims is the loss of their memory of the real world.” Miss Bo continued to ignore Gao Yang’s comments. “One must learn the actual world to minimize the lingering effects of being a Jupiter Traveler.”
“For your information, we call those falling into a coma from the Jupiter Virus before waking up ‘Jupiter Travelers’. Their dreams aren’t their real world, but only a journey. The framing of the experience helps with overcoming the complications.”
Gao Yang listened with only half his attention. His focus was elsewhere.
They had been walking along the corridor for a while, reaching the doors for the year of 05.
Gao Yang’s eyes widened. He shouted, “A flaw!”
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